Blackhawks bolster forward group, acquire Ilya Mikheyev, Sam Lafferty rights, Vancouver draft pick originally appeared in NBC Sports Chicago
Presented by National Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
LAS VEGAS – THE Chicago Blackhawks acquired the trading rights to forward Ilya Mikheyev and forward Sam Lafferty, along with a 2027 second-round pick as sweetener, from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick, the team announced Wednesday night. .
It’s a pure loss of salary for the Canucks, who were desperately looking to create cap space ahead of the NHL Draft and free agency. The Canucks are retaining 15% of Mikheyev’s $4.75 million cap hit; He has two years left on his contract.
Mikheyev also has a 12-team no-trade list that will be transferred to the Blackhawks. The structure between Chicago and Vancouver had been agreed hours before, but the agreement depended on Mikheyev’s approval or not, which he ended up doing.
Mikheyev, 29, scored 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points in 78 games last season with Vancouver. The year before, he scored 13 goals and 28 points in 46 games before undergoing season-ending ACL surgery.
Mikheyev was on pace for 50 points – which would have broken his previous career high of 32 – and was considered one of the fastest skaters in the NHL. There is a higher ceiling he can reach if he finds his previous skating form and gets on the line with Connor Bedard.
A familiar face is also returning to Chicago in Lafferty, who scored 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) in 79 games with Vancouver. His 13 goals were a career high, three of which were game winners.
Lafferty spent two seasons with the Blackhawks from 2021-23, scoring 15 goals and 17 assists for 32 points in 97 games over that span. He was a key part of the team’s penalty kill and averaged a career-high 15:06 of ice time last season before being traded to Toronto with Jake McCabe in a trade package that included a first-round pick going to Chicago.
Lafferty is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, but it would be surprising if the player and team didn’t agree to an extension before then. It seems like both parties want this to work.
Overall, Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson got back the second-round pick – albeit in 2027 – that he sent to the New York Islanders to move up from 20th to 18th overall and four spots in the second round of the 2024 NHL Draft .
Most importantly, Davidson also added a pair of mid/bottom-six forwards, Mikheyev and Lafferty, to bolster his group up front, led by 18-year-old franchise center Bedard, who has been and continues to be a priority this off-season. .
